What is top frequent flyer status really worth?

I find myself in a funny situation this year. I was laid off my job, which involved frequent travel, a month ago and don’t expect to start a new one until after July 4 or later, and I don’t know at this point how much travel that job will entail. I’ve never had much trouble qualifying for Executive Platinum on AA in the past (switching programs/carriers not an option), but this year I might not be able to make it without effort. I really value the perks status gives me, which can’t be fully replicated with credit cards etc. So I am asking myself: if my new job doesn’t get me there, what am I willing to pay out of pocket to qualify? I don’t mind mileage runs, but with the high EQD levels now in place, it’s a lot bigger “spend.” I already have several OOP trips on the books, but figure I’d need quite a bit more in the worst case scenario.

Anyone else done the math on this conundrum before?

Not for AA, but I’ve tried some back-of-the-envelope calculations for United 1K before when I was close-ish. My conclusion was that while the status was genuinely valuable to me, buying EQMs was a terrible ROI. It was a better value and more fun to just take a couple weekend trips (ideally on cheap-ish bus class tickets) that would yield a lot of points, and a nice time. Obviously it’s a pretty personal thing how much one values the status.

I haven’t done the actual math, but I’ve been in a similar boat as you. Besides the upgrades as an EXP on AA, my favorite part was the phone line when things went wrong. That’s something premium fares don’t help out on in the slightest. Unless you find some mileage runs to places you want to go, I don’t think they’re worth them anymore personally.

Unless you are Executive Platinum (or equivalent on other airline) status is worth nothing. Gold is treated like crap, Platinum gets slightly better seats (read: seats like what USED to be standard Economy seats) and some liquor, but on either you rarely, if ever, get to use your 500-mile upgrades, and the only auto-upgrades you get are tiny short puddlejumper flights in planes that are older than you are.

Airline status is such a joke. I’d certainly not invest in getting it, as it’s pricey and if you don’t fly all the time (since the job no longer entails it) why bother?

Yes, I’m talking about buying premium tickets or making mileage runs, not buying miles, and only to get to Executive Platinum, no lower status is worth it. The dedicated phone line, system wide upgrades, fully refundable award tickets, and partner lounge access are the biggest perks, along with free domestic upgrades, which generally seem to come through for me. I find it very valuable. Just trying to decide what that means in dollar terms.

If you want an arbitrary calculation on how much EXP is worth, I’ve seen something by The Points Guy in the past.

Any actual dollar value is going to be based on how much you as an individual value certain things. For instance, I used to only have to fly 1-1.5 hours away weekly. The upgrade from Y to F was nice, but not something I’m willing to pay for so it created no value. If I was flying transcon frequently, I would value having status for the upgrades and would be willing to go out of my way to earn that status.

These days most of my trips are international in paid J or small hops so status really doesn’t interest me as much. It’s going to come down to your specific travel habits.

oh sure - I know ‘worth it’ only has real meaning if the words ‘to me’ are included, just curious if others have gone through the process for themselves and what their thoughts and conclusions were. Not looking for anyone to make the call for me.

I’m a lifetime Plat, but don’t travel for business any more (haven’t in several years). But I also rarely qualified for Exec either (though that didn’t even exist for many of the earlier years I was traveling), and in the last few years of my frequent flying, rarely got upgraded. Will your new job pay for business travel, or do you have to rely on status for upgrade? As much as I like getting into a business or first seat, what I always tell myself when I don’t is “You’re flying! You’re sitting in a chair, in the sky!” :slight_smile:

Great perspective Alan!

It’s almost never “worth it”. Unless Ur line of work is such that you know the new job has a lot of travel that’s where the upgrades will be worth while. Like a consultant weekly flieR.
Otherwise the 4-6 times a year u vacay won’t be worthwhile. part of the time u might not even be on AA metal. Not worth the effort to qualify for the status.

There used to be a site that would help you figure out the cheapest/shortest flights out of your city to help meet eligibility. If you needed two more segments, or 5,000 miles, would help you pick the cheapest way to do so.

Well it depends on how much you travel… I like the upgrades and lounge access (on intl tickets)… plus being looked after due to irrops. I also find the ability to book award travel and cancel for free allows for a lot of travel optionality and flexiblity… YMMV. I maintain both EXP status on AA and Diamond status on DL (on my own dime)… the only arbitrage left in getting status (because of the dollar element) is to by cheap business class tickets on certain partners and credit to AA or DL. Since they do not know what you pay, they give you redeemable miles, qualifying miles and dollars according to your ticketed fare class. You can spend a fraction of the dollar reqirement… plus get a lot more redeemable miles than you would buiying AA or DL stock tickets. So Qatar, Finnair and Cathay good options for AA. Aeromexico, AF, KL and China Eastern for DL. Key is finding cheap business class tickets… the premium mileage run forum at flyertalk a good place to monitor. United does not give dollars for partner tickets so this does not work for them.

Btw, I believe I get the same phone line as the execs do, or maybe I was just grandfathered when exec came into being.

The main benefit I found was if you frequently travel in economy so you get priority check in, boarding and lounge access.

If you are flying business you get all that anyway so what the point really.

Status doesn’t get you lounge access. Business only gets you lounge access on international flights.

Personally as I fly a lot for business I love the free 24hr flight change option.

Sarah - Don’t forget AA should allow you to buy up one level at the end of the year if you can’t make Exec Platinum you can buy up from Platinum Pro. What that cost is depends on how close you are (I think). I am sure the experts on FT can help.

George

George - Just to clarify, status does indeed get you lounge access on international economy tickets. On AA you need at least Plat though.

Certainly gets you lounge access outside of the US.

Fortunately I don’t really fly US domestic.

Yes was thinking domestic. Poorly worded on my part

I just always seem to be behind the guy trying to get in the lounge flying domestic and getting angry when told no… [wow.gif]


George

I used to qualify for ExPlat on AA often. I thought it was important then and chased after it in years I was close. Then I stopped traveling for work much and stopped caring about being up front on anything domestic. I hadn’t eaten the meals in years anyways and if I really want a drink I’ll pay for it. With credit cards I can make sure that my boarding position is high enough so I’ll have overhead storage, and I’ve got more than enough miles to fly first or business internationally, which is the only time I care. Now I fly Southwest for the most part; it’s really a better airline for most of my travel. I can’t believe that I used to chase this stuff… for the travel I do now, even with a handful of international trips per year I don’t think I’d pay more than a few hundred bucks.

The most appropriate way to sum up my current thinking on frequent flying programs: “God gave me a tail to keep off the flies. But I’d rather have no tail and no flies”

Thanks all - interesting mix of perspectives. I get domestic lounge access through my cards, so yes it’s the international lounges I care about. The hours spent in the cabanas at Cathay Pacific’s First Class Lounge at HKG are pretty sweet memories for me!

I do care about flying front of the bus internationally, and the system wide upgrades are a big help with that. I have the a lot of points, but it’s increasingly difficult to find award seats direct to Europe, except for the very high-mileage Anytime awards; so mostly we buy economy and the SWU comes through about 75% for both of us, and even more often for just me.

The flexibility is huge, too. For instance, when we go to Asia via Hong Kong, it’s tough to get two 1st class award seats on Cathay in advance. We can often get one 1st and one biz, though, and then almost always are able to grab a second 1st at the last minute. Being able to switch my husband from his biz to 1st with no penalty is very nice. Or this year we weren’t sure we wanted our Asia trip to go via HKG, but saw the seats were available for our rough travel dates, so we took them as a placeholder. Sure the cancellation or change fees aren’t that much, but it is very nice to have no penalties.

I don’t anticipate any issues getting enough EQMs. It’s all about EQDs now that AA raised it again.

Worrying about keeping my frequent flyer status depending on what new job I get should be the least of my worries right now! :slight_smile: